Category: media

Odd behavior aside, Tom Cruise remains one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars. So why has a high-profile movie he made last year been repeatedly shelved and its release date pushed back? It all has to do with the complicated functioning of movie production companies.

“Movie icon Clint Eastwood will premiere his latest directorial outing, called Changeling, at the Cannes International Film Festival next month… Other films set for the event include Wim Wenders’ The Palermo Shooting and Steven Soderbergh’s four-hour biopic of Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara.”

In the latest battle of the long-simmering war between cultural conservatives and liberals, the minister for information and culture last week ordered television networks to stop broadcasting five soap operas by Tuesday, saying they were not in keeping with “Afghan religion and culture.”

The Tribeca Film Festival in New York got lots of great press. But then it got very successful and the backlash started. This year’s edition works on some changes…

“While the company added a net 764,000 subscribers in the first quarter, it said it expects to end the current quarter with 8.3 million-8.5 mill subscribers, translating — at the low end — to a gain of 60,000 this quarter.”

“Much has been written about how illegal downloading affects the film and music industry, as people steal and even make money – sites like Pirate Bay are not charities where people work for free, believe me – off the stolen work. But the effects of many internet users’ disrespect of copyright can be felt much further than that and they affect the livelihood of millions of people.”

The music and movie industries have been suing consumers. Now a new study says consumer trust of media companies is slipping. “Seventy seven percent of consumers said they trusted technology firms compared to 53% for entertainment and 46% for media. Insurance was the only industry with a lower consumer perception of trust at 45%.”

It’s the Gospel Music Channel, and “it’s television’s fastest-growing cable network – available in some 40 million homes, more than a third of the nation.”

“Despite the buzz surrounding online shorts, it’s telling how little drawn from that well percolates into fully formed TV programs. And for now, anyway, without making that leap, much of what’s on the Web still qualifies as a hobby — mini head-trips for office slackers and those too cheap to buy quality weed.”

Pilot season is the time TV producers cast for shows for th following season. This year though, pilot season is a shadow of what it usually is…